Olivia Chu, Bryn Mawr College
Abstract: Evolutionary dynamics shape social and biological systems across scales, from the evolution of multicellularity to the emergence of underground fungal symbioses to the formation and maintenance of animal groups and human societies. In these complex adaptive systems, small-scale interactions and associations can lead to emergent, large-scale phenomena. These interactions are often greatly influenced by various forms of heterogeneity, such as personality differences in human populations and variation in altruistic tendencies in animals. In this talk, I will present several models of complex social and biological systems, motivated by real-world phenomena and observations. These models are driven by evolutionary game theory, opinion dynamics frameworks, and agent-based modeling, and employ tools from stochastic processes, differential equations, and dynamical network analysis. I will discuss applications such as the evolution of cooperation, social group formation, the effects of environmental shocks on political opinions and activism, and altruistic tensions in social insect populations.